"Fly" is a song by American rock band

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single "Fly". The ...

. It appears on their 1997 album '' Floored'' twice: one version with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

artist

Super Cat William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall mo ...

(track four) and the other without (track 13). The song was serviced to US radio in May 1997. "Fly" became the band's first hit, holding the 1 spot on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart for four consecutive weeks and spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. It was ineligible to chart on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

because a physical CD single was not released commercially in the US. The song also reached No. 1 on Canada's '' RPM'' 100 chart and peaked at No. 31 in Australia. As a result of the success of "Fly", ''Floored'' sold well and was certified double platinum. The song was included on VH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 52.

Composition and music

"Fly" is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

, and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

song, that incorporates elements of

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...

and ska. Sugar Ray's lead singer

Mark McGrath Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of '' Extra'', and he was the host of '' Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. ...

explained that this song had a bouncy beat, yet it was about death; "Fly" too seemed like a bright, up-tempo song but "there is this stark imagery in there. There's loss in it. There is loss of a mother, obviously. I thought it was a good way to juxtapose the lyrics with the melody on that, similar to what Gilbert O'Sullivan did on "Alone Again (Naturally)."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References